Cesar Peixoto feels Wolves could have done more when in possession of the ball in their narrow defeat to Middlesbrough.
The Old Gold suffered only their second league defeat of the season at the Riverside on Saturday afternoon, as Will Lankshear’s second half header secured the points for the hosts on their 150th anniversary.
But with the games coming thick and fast in the second tier, Peixoto is hoping his players can take positives from the way they were able to try and battle back after falling behind into Tuesday evening’s clash with Bolton Wanderers at Molineux.
On losing at the Riverside
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game. Middlesbrough have a good team and they play well. In the first half, Middlesbrough had more of the ball, they were well organised defensively and it was sometimes difficult to find the right triggers to press. But despite having more of the ball, they didn’t create many clear chances to score.
“I think our biggest problem in the first half was what we did when we won the ball. We didn’t take enough time to play with it or manage the game. We always tried to speed things up immediately, lost possession and then Middlesbrough had the ball again.
“At half-time, I spoke with the players about trying to play our way, keeping the ball for longer and managing the game better, but after Middlesbrough scored, we had a very strong reaction. We pushed Middlesbrough back and created a lot of crossing situations and opportunities inside the box.
“I think our final decisions, particularly with the last pass or cross, weren’t always the best and we also didn’t have enough players inside the box to fight for the ball and try to score. But we created a lot of situations, managed the game and the players who came from the bench were very important in improving the team.”
On taking positives from defeat
“Only a big team, with a lot of soul and quality, can react like we did and I think we could have scored and drawn the game.
“Of course, I’m not happy with the result, but I’m happy with the reaction of the team. We showed soul, quality, organisation, desire and hunger to score and take something from the game and now we have to keep pushing.
“We know we won’t win every game, but if we continue to compete and react like that until the end, I think we’ll win more than we lose, for sure.”
On away defeats to promotion rivals
“If you look at both games, we fought until the end to try to get the three points, or at least one point. Against West Ham, I don’t think the final score reflected the game. We played well and I liked the way we played.
“Today, in the first half, I think we needed to take more time with the ball and then in the second half, after conceding, we reacted strongly and showed that we have the capacity and quality to compete with this team. I don’t have any doubts about that.
“It was a difficult game for us today, but I said to the players afterwards to keep your heads up. To react like that after conceding, away from home against a very good team, shows our strength and we have to continue fighting and pushing because the team is going in a good direction.”
On Rafiki Said’s debut
“It was good for him and good for us because having more options is very important. During the international break, we worked hard to improve Rafiki’s physical condition and get him to a level where he could become an option for us.
“I think Rafiki, Bellegarde, Fer [Lopez], Jordan [James] and Sean [Neave] all helped improve the team after we conceded. The players who came from the bench helped us push higher, keep the ball, press and show the right mentality to try to score an equaliser.
“I think we deserved to score in the final minutes, but this is football, so congratulations to Middlesbrough, but we’ll keep working and fighting, and Rafiki is now another option for us.”
On both Traores missing from the squad
“Unfortunately, Boubacar has been injured for the last couple of weeks and Bertrand felt something in the final training session.
“We examined him and found a small injury, so he wasn’t able to travel with us.”
